Noncompliance Does Not Mean Spineless: Missouri Style

HB 361 set in stone how Missouri establishes residency, naturalization, and lawful immigration status. This bill also defined information included on a Missouri ID card. It specifically states that, “an applicant shall not have his or her privacy rights violated in order to obtain or renew a Missouri noncommercial driver’s license, noncommercial instruction permit, or a nondriver’s license.” The the law emphatically states, “Missouri will not comply with the Department of Homeland Securities REAL-ID act.”

The department of revenue shall not amend procedures for applying for a driver’s license or identification card in order to comply with the goals or standards of the federal REAL ID Act of 2005, any rules or regulations promulgated under the authority granted in such act, or any requirements adopted by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators for furtherance of the act.

Any biometric data previously collected, obtained, or retained in connection with motor vehicle registration or operation, the issuance or renewal of driver’s licenses, or the issuance or renewal of any identification cards by any department or agency of the state charged with those activities shall be retrieved and deleted from all databases. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any data collected, obtained, or retained for a purpose other than compliance with the federal REAL ID Act of 2005. For purposes of this section, “biometric data” includes, but is not limited to:
(1) Facial feature pattern characteristics;
(2) Voice data used for comparing live speech with a previously created speech model of a person’s voice;
(3) Iris recognition data containing color or texture patterns or codes;
(4) Retinal scans, reading through the pupil to measure blood vessels lining the retina;
(5) Fingerprint, palm prints, hand geometry, measuring of any and all characteristics of biometric information, including shape and length of fingertips or recording ridge pattern or fingertip characteristics;
(6) Eye spacing;
(7) Characteristic gait or walk;
(8) DNA;
(9) Keystroke dynamics, measuring pressure applied to key pads or other digital receiving devices.
5. No citizen of this state shall have his or her privacy compromised by the state or agents of the state. The state shall within reason protect the sovereignty of the citizens the state is entrusted to protect.

The End-Around

But it appears state bureaucrats are implementing Real ID through a back door, in direct violation of state law.

During a hearing with Senator Kurt Schaefer, information came out indicating the Department of Revenue (DoR) uses a third party to create ID’s. Morphotrust is known for compiling data for REAL-ID. The Department of Defense, the TSA, and DHS all utilize the company. The DoD uses Morphotrust for it’s biometric analysis and storage capabilities.

“Specifically, DoD uses ABIS to quickly and accurately match fingerprints and facial and iris images, along with other biometric functions, to support the DoD’s mission of identifying and providing intelligence on persons of interest who could potentially pose a threat to national security or those engaged in warfighting missions.”

“MorphoTrust will aggregate the necessary employee data and submit it to TSA, which conducts the employee threat assessments required for work in the aviation environment….MorphoTrust’s one-stop-shop offering to the aviation community goes beyond DAC services, to include fingerprinting and badging, with other identity-related services being added.”

Missouri First captured the exchange between Schaefer and a DoR official. Schaefer repeatedly asked who was responsible for verifying biometric data going to Morphotrust gets destroyed? The DoR official repeatedly avoided answering the questioning. Upon further questioning, the DoR official finally said Morphotrust gets oral verification over the phone confirming destruction of the data. The DoR official said a single person by the name of Jackie Bembrum was in charge of the verification process. However, Schaefer said in a previous hearing Bembrum said she never did it.

At the end of the exchange, Senator Schaefer wanted to know who was paying for biometric analysis. The DoR said they received a “grant” from DHS to increase security of Missouri driver licenses.

Using grant money to deliver biometrical data to Morphotrust puts the DoR in direct violation of the 2009 bill forbidding compliance with Real ID. In a nutshell, the Department of Homeland Security is bribing the those in charge of issuing ID’s to send personal data that is prohibited by state laws.

Fighting Back

So how is Missouri fighting back? After all, HB361 nullifying Real ID was a pure non-compliance act with no “teeth.”

Easy- in 2 steps!

Step 1 – Issue Subpoenas to find out what exactly has the DoR been doing. Missouri First reported on the subpoenas issued by Senator Schaeffer’s Subpoena to the DoR. Explainations of why Senator Schaeffer issued the subpoena’s issued in this youtube video by United for Missouri.

Step 2: – Remove the traitors! Representative Bahr filed HB886 to allow the State of Missouri to remove those involved in corruption and directly violating laws.

1. The general assembly is hereby authorized to remove from employment or service any department director or deputy director when it determines that such removal is necessary for the betterment of the public service in a manner consistent with the provisions of this section.
2. A petition signed by sixteen members of the house of representatives and filed with the chief clerk of the house containing allegations supporting the need for removal of the director or deputy director shall initiate the process. After the removal petition has been filed, the chief clerk shall give a written notice to the secretary of the senate and the director or deputy director of the intention to remove him or her from office.
3. If the requirements under subsection 2 of this section have been met the house standing ethics committee shall gather information regarding the allegations set for in the petition and shall conduct at least one hearing to allow the director or deputy director to present a defense to the allegations against him or her. This hearing shall be a closed meeting and not open to the public. Within thirty days of its first meeting, the committee shall file a report of its findings with the chief clerk of the house and the secretary of the senate.
4. After the committee has filed its report, the members of the house of representatives shall vote on the removal of the director or deputy director. If a majority of the members of the body vote to remove the director or deputy director, then the senate shall vote on the removal. If the majority of the whole number of votes of both houses is in the affirmative, then the director or deputy director shall be relieved of his or her employment with the state immediately and shall be removed from the position he or she holds.
5. For the purposes of this section, “betterment of the public service” shall include instances of misconduct, perjury before any committee of the general assembly, violation of any state statute, a conviction or plea of guilty for committing any crime, habitual drunkenness, willful neglect of duty, corruption in office, incompetency, or any offense involving moral turpitude or oppression in office.

This bill needs your help to move forward. This bill will preserve the privacy of individuals in Missouri and uphold the law signed by the Governor expressly forbidding data collection required by REAL-ID. This bill affirms that no means no!

No Teeth, Nasty Bite

A bill with no teeth does not mean it does not have a spine.

If you remember from your chemistry and biology class days, a hydrogen bond is weak. But, multiple hydrogen bonds are strong. Without hydrogen bonding, the DNA in all your cells would not be able to form it’s double helix structure. Multiple hydrogen bonds bind the vital double strand code on the inside and align the strongest forces (covalent bonds of the sugar phosphate backbone) to the outside. DNA would not be stable without multiple weak bonds. But just like DNA, noncompliance nullification can be a strong force against the feds. Multiple states can be seen as individual hydrogen bond. But when enough states say no, they form a strong force against the feds. But that is not all, an individual state with multiple legal actions will stop the fed’s back door deals. Nullification bills with no teeth, may seem weak to some, like a single hydrogen bond. But, Missouri knows that multiple actions through legislation, follow up through hearings, and due diligence, even if they have to be extracted through subpoenas, will form the strong spine against the corrupt forces of the federal government.

Action Items

House Bill 886 needs to be assigned to a committee and scheduled for a hearing. If you are a Missouri citizen, please call your representative and have them vote YES on HB886.